The Silver Lake Village Board heard Wednesday from three bidders seeking to become the provider of EMS/paramedic service to village residents.
Submitting bids were Medix/Curtis Ambulance, Antioch Rescue Squad and Silver Lake Rescue Squad Inc.
The board opened the bids for the first time at the Village Board meeting. Village President Sue Gerber said she did not believe there was sufficient time to also make a decision Wednesday night. Other board members apparently agreed as action on the matter was tabled later by a unanimous vote.
A representative of each organization gave a summary of their bid.
Jim Baker, CEO of Medix/Curtis said his company operates in Milwaukee, Madison and Adams County. The company has a station in Burlington and recently took over operation of the Delavan Rescue Squad. Curtis said his company providing paramedic service to Silver Lake would cost between $200,000 and $300,000 a year, depending on the level of staffing. “Bluntly it’s expensive,” Baker said. “It’s expensive because don’t have a lot of call volume.”
Brian DeKind, chief of Antioch Rescue, presented his organization’s proposal. Currently, ARS is not licensed in Wisconsin but could serve Silver Lake immediately as mutual aid. If the relationship became more long-term, he thinks ARS could be fully accredited in Wisconsin by spring 2014. DeKind said ARS proposes having a paramedic based in the Silver Lake Fire Department station to answer calls eventually. ARS would charge Silver Lake $7,000 per year for the two years of the proposed agreement.
Wendy Lasko represented Silver Lake Rescue Squad. She outlined a proposal of providing IV-tech level services with paramedic intercepts when needed from other departments. Last year, the squad had 142 calls within Silver Lake and two required paramedic intercept, said Bob Johnson, SLRS chief. SLRS proposes a fee to the village of $27,000 per year, the fee it has charged for the last two years. SLRS is the village’s current EMS provider.
During the Antioch Rescue presentation, former Trustee Alan Bryner, speaking from the audience, raised issues about ARS’s proposal and controversy the squad has been involved in. As the exchange grew heated between some board members, other audience members and Bryner, Trustees Pat Dunn and Cyndy Schwebke said Bryner made an obscene gesture at them. Dunn directed a village police officer to remove Bryner from the room. But Gerber shouted that she was in charge of the meeting while hitting her gavel so hard it broke. Gerber asked Bryner to leave and he did without escort.
The meeting almost didn’t happen as the board room was over safe capacity (57 people). Eventually enough people left or watched the meeting from the hall to allow the meeting to proceed.
The search for EMS service is prompted by the Salem Town Board’s lack of action on an agreement for Salem Fire/Rescue to provide emergency medical services to the village, with Silver Lake Fire Department firefighters acting as first responders. That arrangement, approved by the Silver Lake Village Board in March, was the result of over a year’s worth of discussion of options. It also meant the village would not be contracting for EMS with Silver Lake Rescue Squad Inc. for the first time in over 30 years. Money saved by not contracting with Silver Lake Rescue was earmarked to pay for staffing the fire department.
Mudslinging Sue can pound the gavel all she wants…NO ONE is listening. Al Bryner represented the true feelings of those Save Our Rescue squad folks who will use any means at their disposal to undermine any attempts to upgrade fire and rescue service in the village. Sue and Flip Flop Barb think each side should hold hands, bow their heads, and let Pat Wilson lead them in reflection. That ain’ t gonna happen folks. $7000/year for Paramedic service vs. $27,000/year for IV Tech level service. And you SLRS folks..one more time…how many of you are village residents? Ah, thought so.
Way to go Al!!! As a former board member, how dare you act like a child at an official meeting!!! You should be ASHAMED of yourself!! You are a grown man and you act like you own the show. Since Sue has been in office, you have pushed the line on several issues and you need to stop. You only make yourself look like a fool. You know the saying, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.” Lincoln, Abraham. I don’t think you would have tolerated this behavior by a citizen when you were on the board, would you have??? And to slam Trustee Wilber for a question she was asking about why the Rescue Squad sells items at the concerts in the park was absurd. You again made yourself look like a fool. She was merely asking the question if anyone else was given the opportunity and of course he failed to mention that part. Only the part to make her look foolish. Why shouldn’t she ask as a trustee if any other municipal organization was given the opportunity to sell stuff at a village sponsored event. It was only a question. Not bashing the Rescue like he said. Taken out of context to give himself a reason to speak. Besides if that is all he’s got on her, big deal. She has done so much for this community to save money, and he wants to throw that in there. Again, see above for guidance!!!
Thanks Sandy your comments hit the nail right rite on the head. The one thing Mr.Bryner and the previous board members won’t admit to is that no one saw the SLFD starting to fail, Rich Marron tried to do this but failed maybe he should have been as voice-full like Mr. Bryner so know one listened so shame on all of those who served on the previous boards. I some times think that Silver Lake should become unincorporated village of Salem don’t know what that will do as far as taxes go but at this point who cares.
I don’t think that anyone on this board hates people in privately owned business, but they are offended by the lack of interest that SLR has for helping the village with the problem’s that SLFD has let’s face it if your house is on fire and you are trapped on the second floor will they be able to rescue you! In closing I myself would like to see SLR charge Silver Lake the same as they charge the other communities and be more aggressive collecting monies from insurance companies and Medicare.